200-HOME NEIGHBORHOOD IS A LOOKER

JANE GORDON; Special to The CourantTHE HARTFORD COURANT

Three years ago, Bea and Stanley Chaia wanted a house that was smaller and easier to navigate than the raised ranch they owned. They knew what they wanted: to stay in a neighborhood in town, and to keep living in a home of their own.

They found what they were looking for in the area once known as Case's Hill in the western section of town. A one-floor ranch, a web of streets of well-tended homes, and a neighborhood where residents look after one another persuaded them that this was the place where they belonged.

"I love this neighborhood," Bea Chaia says. "It's ideal. The neighbors all around us are fantastic, and are out to help you. They welcomed us into the neighborhood, and they've been friendly and helpful ever since."

The Chaias had moved to South Windsor from Glastonbury in 1988 to escape what they perceived were rapidly rising taxes. Now that reason is no longer valid, Bea Chaia says.

"Taxes have evened out," she laughs. "But we've stayed. We wanted to be closer to the Manchester stores, and in general, this area was better for us."

The development of about 200 houses was built by JMJ Construction in the early 1980s, and to some degree its style of houses reflect those times. Raised ranch-style and split-level houses mix with ranches, colonials and a few contemporaries and capes.

The raised ranch and split-level have lost much of their allure in a market filled with buyers who, as they approach the turn of the century, are looking toward more traditional styles of architecture, especially farmhouses, colonials and expanded capes.

No matter what the style, though, the houses in this quiet neighborhood are well tended.

"People just like the looks of the neighborhood," says Joan Murphy of Prudential-Connecticut Realty in Vernon.

"It's got sidewalks, proximity to the malls and highways, and it's very nice-looking and attractive. Everyone keeps their homes up, they take care of their lawns, they keep the houses painted and in good shape. There's a lot of pride of ownership."

The area, accessible from LeFoll Boulevard off Pleasant Valley Road, includes several small streets that curve around and into each other to create a tight little neighborhood.

Once farmland, some of the property was owned by the Case family, early settlers and farmers in South Windsor. The Cases were related to the Spencers, the ancestral family of the late Princess Diana.

The Spencers stayed in England and spawned a princess; the Cases went to America and cultivated crops. Historian Barney Daley has plenty of history to share about Case's Hill, including that some of the neighborhood's property belonged to Leslie King, who was a town selectman in 1924.

King is best remembered for making a town purchase of a massive Best tractor, christened old Bess, for the then-sky-high price of $5,000, a sum that infuriated the townspeople.

The besieged King suffered the scoldings of his constituents until the winter hit, and they were all snowed in. In fact, the state was snowed in, and officials gave King a call.

Could he clear Avon Mountain with old Bess? He did, and went about earning back the price of old Bess with all of the state snow-plowing he could handle.

Instead of a heel, old Bess ended up making Leslie King a hero. These and other quirky tales of South Windsor are, in fact, in Daley's book, "Tobacco Parish."

For the Chaias, the area's stories take a back seat to convenience, though. The couple bought a 1,400- square-foot house with two large bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a living room, combined kitchen-dining area, family room and sunroom on a little more than half an acre.

"It's easier to maintain than our former house," Chaia says, "and there are no stairs."

Prices for houses sold recently in the neighborhood range from about $150,000 to $240,000. There are no condominiums, apartments or any other property to rent, although there is a condominium complex not far from the neighborhood on Pleasant Valley Road, Murphy says.

Property is taxed at a rate of $33.05 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

The area is served by city water and city sewer. The neighborhood has been quiet as far as crime goes, as is the rest of the town, police officials say.

The subdivision is off Pleasant Valley Road, which runs past Ellington Road, a major artery through town that turns into Oakland Street, which subsequently turns into Deming Road by the Buckland Hills Mall.

Going west, Pleasant Valley Road connects with Route 5, a busy road that leads to East Windsor to the north and East Hartford to the south.

Children attend Pleasant Valley Elementary School, one of five kindergarten-through-fifth-grade elementary schools in town. Students move on to Timothy Edwards Middle School, then South Windsor High School.

South Windsor's recreation department offers a variety of organized sports for youths, along with a social center for teenagers. Four parks, a wildlife sanctuary, the Linear Park and the Connecticut River boat launch also offer recreation for all ages.

For Bea Chaia, it's the perfect spot in which to grow older. "We are really happy here," she says with conviction. "This is my last move."